Born in the 1980s, she was remarried and became a stepmother; a cold, rough man doted on her, pinchi

Chapter 111 Lazy and Stupid
In the early morning, a few thin rays of sunlight, as if reluctant, weakly shone through the narrow crack in the window onto the area around Jiang He and her child's bed.

Jiang He had just finished coaxing her child to sleep, exhausted, and had barely closed her eyes when she was startled awake by Lin's mother's loud shouts from outside.

"Jiang He, what time is it? Don't you know you should get up and do some work?"

Lin's mother's voice was sharp and urgent, like a steel needle piercing straight into Jiang He's ears.

Jiang He reluctantly opened her bloodshot eyes, dragged her still weak body after childbirth, slowly got up, and walked step by step towards the living room.

Lin's mother was sitting casually on the sofa, her legs crossed high. When she saw Jiang He come out, she just glanced at her coldly and began to scold her without any politeness: "Look at you, so listless. You're such a bad omen. The baby cried all night and kept me from sleeping well. Can't you do anything about it?"

Jiang He lowered her head slightly and explained softly, her voice full of exhaustion: "Mom, the baby was hungry at night, and I've been breastfeeding him the whole time. I really haven't been able to sleep well."

Upon hearing this, Lin's mother snorted coldly, her voice full of disdain: "Breastfeeding? Which woman doesn't give birth? You're just being nosy. When I gave birth to Yan Qing, I wasn't so delicate. I was back to work in the fields just a few days after giving birth. Unlike you, who always looks sickly."

Although Jiang He felt wronged, she didn't dare to talk back. She silently turned around and went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Lin's mother was not about to give up. She immediately followed behind, her nagging going on and on like a machine gun: "Your cooking skills are terrible. All you do every day is make this bland soup. There's no oil or fat in it. How will you nourish your body? How will you have the strength to take care of the children in the future?"

Jiang He tried to keep her tone calm and said, "Mom, I'm currently in my postpartum period, and the doctor specifically instructed me to eat a light diet, as this is good for my recovery."

Lin's mother disagreed, crossed her arms, and raised her voice to retort, "What do doctors know? They're all just armchair theorists. The methods passed down from our ancestors are the only reliable ones. You have to eat lots of meat and drink plenty of meat broth to have enough breast milk to feed the baby and to have the strength to manage the household affairs."

Jiang He looked hesitant, and after thinking for a moment, she said, "Mom, if you want to eat something, just tell me and I'll make it for you."

Lin's mother waved her hand impatiently, looking disgusted: "Forget it, I don't trust you to do it anyway. I'll do it myself later. Don't get in the way here, go wash the baby's diapers, they're piled up like a small mountain, it's annoying to look at them."

Jiang He sighed helplessly and turned back to her room. She gently picked up the child, who was sleeping soundly, his rosy cheeks making her feel an overwhelming sense of tenderness.

Jiang He carefully prepared to change the baby's diaper, but Lin's mother came in uninvited. She looked at the baby and began to mutter, "What's the use of having a girl? She'll still get married in the future. She'll just be a freebie for outsiders. The Lin family line will be cut off."

Jiang He hugged her child tightly with heartache and couldn't help but retort, "Mom, what's wrong with girls? Girls can be filial to their parents just as well, and they can be successful just as well. What era are we living in now? Men and women are the same."

Lin's mother curled her lip in disdain and snorted, "You're just being stubborn. You'll regret it when she grows up. Girls will get married sooner or later; they won't have time to care about their parents' home."

Jiang He stopped arguing with her, silently changed the diaper, gently placed the child on the bed, and turned to wash the diaper.

Lin's mother followed behind and began gesturing wildly again: "Use cold water to wash diapers, don't waste hot water, that would cost too much money. Our family isn't rich, we can't afford your waste."

Jiang He looked troubled and said softly, "Mom, I'm in my postpartum period now and can't touch cold water, or I'll develop health problems later. The older generation all know this, so please understand."

Lin's mother glared at her, hands on her hips: "You're so particular. We didn't have these kinds of rules back then, and we were fine. Stop making excuses and go wash it." Jiang He gritted her teeth and finally insisted on washing the diaper with hot water.

After washing the diapers, she dragged her aching back back to the living room. Before she could even catch her breath, her mother started criticizing her again: "Look at this house, it's a complete mess, what kind of place is this? How can you be a good mother like this, how can you take care of the child? You can't even keep the house tidy."

Jiang He reluctantly picked up the broom and began cleaning the room. Lin's mother sat on a chair to the side, her eyes fixed on her, constantly finding fault: "The floor isn't even clean, there's still dust on the table. Do you even know how to do housework? Sweep it again, don't just do a perfunctory job."

Jiang He forced back her tears and silently cleaned again as Lin's mother had asked.

Just then, the child suddenly started crying in the room.

Jiang He hurriedly put down the broom and ran quickly into the room to comfort the child.

Lin's mother shouted from behind, "All you do all day is run around the child, you don't know how to do anything useful. What's wrong with the child crying a couple of times? It won't hurt him."

Jiang He ignored Lin's mother's words, went into the room, gently picked up the child, and tenderly coaxed him.

The child gradually stopped crying in her arms.

After calming the child down, Jiang He walked out of the room and looked at Lin's mother sitting in the living room. She said cautiously, "Mom, the child has run out of some things. I'd like to go buy some more. Could you watch the child for me?"

Upon hearing this, Lin's mother immediately waved her hand, her face full of displeasure: "I can't take care of children. If something goes wrong, you'll blame me. You take the child yourself and don't expect me to help you."

Helpless, Jiang He had no choice but to take the child out. The summer sun was scorching hot, baking the earth.

Jiang He carried her child and walked with difficulty under the scorching sun, her back soaked with sweat.

When she returned from shopping, she was exhausted, panting and her legs felt weak.

Looking at her disheveled appearance, Lin's mother showed no pity whatsoever. Instead, she frowned and said, "Why did it take you so long to buy something? Don't you know I was getting impatient waiting at home?"

Jiang He didn't speak, silently went into the room, and put her things down. Lin's mother then began to instruct, "Make sure to cook something delicious tonight; Yan Qing is coming home for dinner today. Don't just make bland, watery dishes all the time; Yan Qing doesn't like them. You need to be more mindful and take good care of him."

Jiang He nodded wearily: "Okay, Mom."

In the evening, Jiang Heqiang mustered his energy and busied himself cooking in the sweltering kitchen.

Lin's mother sat in the living room, leisurely watching TV, occasionally shouting towards the kitchen: "Jiang He, is dinner ready yet? I'm starving. Hurry up, don't dawdle."